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2021-03-31-accounts

Sight for Wight The Isle of Wight Society for the Blind Annual Report and Accounts For the Year ended 31[st] March 2021

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Registered Charity 1149415
Company Limited by Guarantee Number 6240404
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Trustee Ruth Hollingshead

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Contents
Welcome from our Chair, Sue Bungey 3
Welcome from our CEO, Lisa Hollyhead 4 - 6
Trustees’ Report 7 - 8
Celebrating 125 years 9 - 13
Working Together- The Whole Team 14 - 29
Looking Forward 30
Financial Review 31 - 35
Our Trading Company 36 - 38
Structure, Governance and Management 39 - 43
Independent Examiner’s Report 44 - 45
Statement of Financial activities 46
Balance Sheet 47 - 48
Notes to the Financial Statements 49 - 63

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Welcome from our Chair, Sue Bungey

A warm welcome to everyone. We present our annual report and accounts for the Isle of Wight Society for the Blind, known as Sight for Wight. We are the Isle of Wight charity offering help, support and advice to people on the Isle of Wight living with and affected by Sight Loss.

During this, my third year as Chair of the Board of Trustees, we have embedded the 2020 Strategy into our work and have ensured that everything we do has the members at its focus.

2020 has been an extremely challenging year for our members, many of whom have self-isolated for over 15 months. Social distancing is simply impossible if your vision does not allow for it, and for those using touch to guide themselves, the fear of contracting the virus is extremely real.

Directly supporting just under 630 Visually Impaired people, to counter this in April 2020 the staff and volunteers took it upon themselves to telephone every single member to talk to them, check that they had medicine, food and social contact and most importantly listen to each person. A mammoth task but as a result, we felt we had done our best to help everyone on an individual basis.

Without the commitment of our team of volunteers, staff and trustees, the generous ongoing donations from our supporters and the direct feedback from our members, we would not be able to offer the breadth and detail of service that we do. Thank you to every person who has, and will, contribute to us.

Thank you to our whole team.

Sue Bungey - Chair of the Trustees

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Welcome from our CEO, Lisa Hollyhead.

I took the reins as Chief Executive Officer at the end of March 2020, I am very pleased to be at the helm as our new 2020 strategy has really taken shape over the past 12 months.

Of course, it goes without saying that 2020 was a very difficult year, starting in full lockdown and ending with our centre still closed to members.

This certainly however did not stop our work for members, we completed our largest ever member contact by telephoning every single member, one by one, to check their individual home circumstances, to offer help through our charity and partner organisations.

We celebrated what we thought was 125 years as a working charity but, after lots of research, it would appear that although it was 125 years since formal minutes of the Charity’s work began, the first meeting was actually recorded in 1865 making us 155 years old which actually pre-dates the RNIB. Researching the history really was a very captivating experience and seeing the work done by our predecessors really inspired current staff and volunteers.

We have also made huge progress in embedding our 2020 Strategy into what we do, how we do it and why we do it. To this end, during the year, we completed several new large projects as a direct result including:

A Friend in Need - Lottery Community Fund Grant incorporating befriending, Alexa Skill and hardware funding.

Hello Everyone QR Codes – Turning the written word into audio.

Hello Everyone Access QR Codes – Allowing VI people to enter an area with confidence.

One Wish project – catering for wants not just needs.

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Member Transport survey – completed and changed how we help people.

Newsletter – with funding from Independent Age, we have doubled the size and now send it out in one of five formats, through one of nine channels.

Audio Library - celebrated 50[th] anniversary and made the complete move from tape to CD’s.

Talking news - celebrated 45 years of service, is now played on local Radio, our Alexa Skill and of course retaining our weekly USB distribution.

– Education program teaching every Isle of Wight primary school child how to prevent avoidable sight loss and the importance of good eye health.

– Families and Young people establishing contact with schools sensory team and reaching out to families.

Employment for VI People – offering one to one support to people looking for work and offering accessibility advice to employers.

Videos - production of videos to educate people on living with sight loss and what are the major conditions people live with.

– Working partnerships we have established working partnerships with 25 other local and national organisations.

CENSUS – working with the Local and National CENSUS staff to produce an accessible 2021 CENSUS, with accompanying accessible information leaflets.

Lobby for the needs of VI people – including work with Hampshire Police on their Visual Impairment Protocol and BERYL E-Scooter.

Member Volunteering – Helping others empowers you.

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Logo Competition – our shop was relaunched with a brand-new logo designed by a 12-year-old Isle of Wight School child.

All of these projects are covered later in this report when we look back, and future projects are summarised when we look forward.

In summary, 2020 was a very difficult year with no face-to-face contact with members. We used the time with the results of our 2020 survey to really look at what we do and refocus everything around members true needs.

Having lived with 88% sight loss since birth and with progressive hearing loss, I naturally use my own experience, but I know fundamentally every single person, regardless of whether or not they are living with sight loss, is an individual and deserves to be treated as one.

My promise to our members:

Lisa Hollyhead Chief Executive Officer

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Trustees’ Report – A Strategic Approach

The Trustees are pleased to present their Annual Directors’ Report, together with the financial statements of Sight for Wight for the year ending 31 March 2021.

The year has put an enormous strain on staff, volunteers and members alike and we have made commitments to utilise reserves to offer individual support and help to our members to return to their previous level of independence and confidence in the outside world.

We have increased our range of services to meet the strategic aims identified in our 2020 Strategy. We have reached out with an Island-wide collaborative approach to provide the best possible services to our members with efficient use of resources.

It is a strong belief of the Trustees that working with the wider community will produce the best results for our members. We should all play to our strengths and allow others more capable to fulfil our weaker areas. Our core aims are:

Fully engaged with twenty-five other organisations, we actively refer people to ensure they receive the best service, advice and support. We have bi-annual training, meeting with 13 of these organisations to ensure advice remains current, and that realistic time scales and expectations can be given to members.

To ensure our sustainability, we have continued a rigorous financial review of all expenditure, and the attached financial statements show a positive

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addition to reserves this year, due in the main to a legacy received just before the year end.

This will be utilised in line with our legacy policy, to both maintain and further service to members. Our reserves held in our Charles Stanley portfolio showed a year-end rise in value of £35,419 compared to a 2020 year end loss (£34,085).

The trustees continue to monitor the Charity’s reserves, ensuring their lowrisk strategy is adhered to and including a review of the portfolio managers.

The major areas identified in 2020 where provision on the Isle of Wight is severely lacking have been tackled during the year, as detailed in our looking back section. And during the year, further gaps have been identified to be tackled in the forthcoming year.

The Board of Trustees wish to thank each and every member of staff, volunteer supporters, and most importantly charity members for their support, help and honest feedback on services. This makes it possible for Sight for Wight to continue to go from strength to strength, supporting people on an individual basis.

Sue Bungey Chair of Trustees

Christina Conroy Treasurer

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Celebrating 125 Years

Celebrating what we believed to be our 125[th] Birthday this year we took the chance to really delve further into our history and found in fact we actually seem to date as far back as 1865.

1865 to 1895 - During the mid-Victorian period in Great Britain, interest and concern began regarding the plight of blind people and their families living in the community. This concern brought about the formation of societies whose specific aims were to support “needy blind” people in the community.

In 1865 John Cooper wrote to the Editor of the Isle of Wight Observer asking vicars of all denominations and interested Ladies and Gentlemen to come together to form a committee to represent the needs of the blind and raise money.

In 1867 he again writes detailing the accounts for the proceeding two years of the Isle of Wight Blind Society. There are more than a dozen further articles with charity events staged across the Island between 1865—1873 to raise money for the Isle of Wight Blind Society. By 1873 it even has Royal patronage. There is then little of note until circa 1893 when a new society with the incredibly long name ‘The Isle of Wight Society for the Benefit of the Indigent Blind and Alleviation of Diseases of the Eye likely to lead to more Blindness’ is noted.

Although the earliest information on its establishment is actually missing, the County Records Office has a series of annual reports that start with the 6th Annual report published in 1899, which surely suggests it existed on the Island in the tax year 1893/4. It lists a President, General Carr Tate, who I believe to be General Henry Carr Tate who lived on the Island at least in the latter part of his life and passed away at the age of 91 in October 1901.

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This first annual report details fifteen local secretaries who are linked to Parishes, this leads us to believe this is one and the same Society set up through the efforts of John Cooper in 1865.

The report of 1899 further lists the first books made available for members to read and they are entirely made up of extracts from the Old and New testaments, initially in Moon’s type, before Braille was added at a slightly later date. So, it

would seem that our lending library has a wonderful history too, though perhaps offers a wider range of material these days.

The year 1920 saw the introduction of the Blind Person’s Act which laid certain responsibilities on local authorities to provide some services for blind people. It was permissible for local authorities to delegate some or all of these responsibilities to a voluntary agency, and in 1921 the Society became affiliated to the Council and remained so until 2014. As a result of the act in 1921 this pension was 1 shilling per week.

1938 to 1970- This period saw a huge shift in how blind Isle of Wight people could be helped away from paying benefits, to trying to help them in more practical ways.

The first details of 1945 records show income was £5,022, with expenditure of £4.020 and reserves of £4,842.

In 1946, GP Dr Finley proposed opening a home for the blind, but the then treasurer, Mr CL Davies was cautious and declared further fundraising was needed as property prices were so high. But, with changes in state aid for blind people from the period 1946 – 1950 the Charity came under threat as it was perceived it was no longer needed.

Home at Polars for blind IW residents

By 1951 The Society had plans in place to build a 20-bedroom home at Polars, adjoining a council care home. A total of £22,750 had to be raised for

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the build; the County Press carried a front-page fundraiser offering people the chance to purchase a brick for a shilling.

By 13th June 1955, Wilfred Pickles opened the home. It is believed this was the first home built after the National Assistance Act was passed in 1948, and the only one built in conjunction with an old people’s home allowing blind people to mix with sighted people and become friends.

26 of the Island’s 172 blind people had a home with scented gardens, activities including crochet, radios and heating. Running costs of the home were met by the Council and the number of residents stayed at around 20. By 1981, the last time a record was kept, this had dropped to 17. By 2000 the link between Polars and the Society was minimal but its lasting legacy was the craft centre built at Polars.

1951 What do the accounts show?

Income of £1,300 against costs of £1,000. With 152 blind members, 74 males of whom 51 were unemployed and 78 females of whom 73 were unemployed. Costs included a two-week holiday for members to Bournemouth, costing £7.50 with £277 being spent on ‘special grants to members, food, clothing, braille magazines and radios.’ A further £1.05 was paid to every single member as a Christmas present.

In 1954 the Society saw a dramatic change in their objectives which were rewritten from ‘giving financial and other help to the needy blind’ to ‘giving help financially or otherwise as may be necessary to the blind and the partially sighted in the Isle of Wight and in the prevention of blindness.’ There were 13 partially sighted people in addition to the 153 blind people.

By 1960 a home teacher had been employed to help the 252 blind and 17 partially sighted students on the Island, and a craft centre erected at Polars costing £4,000. By 1964 the Society could no longer afford to employ the home teacher and the Council were asked to take over this role.

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To aid fundraising a three-year contract was entered into with the RNIB whom had previously withdrawn any joint funding in 1951 on a 50/50 basis. However, of the £2,763 raised the RNIB took £1,130 as costs leaving just £1,652 to distribute. The Society ended the arrangement. With the departure of the home teacher Noreen Taylor, the only remaining employee, was left with 300 people to help on her own.

The 1960’s and 1970’s saw the Society take over its fundraising as the council funding depleted and the RNIB relationship ended. However, the Council finally took responsibility and employed two officers through the Society to offer rehabilitation services, and while other areas of the Country lost their own society and with that the keeping of registers, the Island stood strong and the Society flourished in helping people as their history had proved they could.

The present day As I am now at the helm of the Isle of Wight’s oldest working charity, I stand in awe at my predecessors and what they have achieved. The early records show from 1928—1958 Mr S B Dore was the only employee and was famed for ‘his unfailing compassion for the blind.’ When ill health took control, he was followed by his daughter, Mrs Noreen Taylor, who introduced the Home Teacher and fought hard with the Isle of Wight Council to introduce, eventually, two full-time paid Rehabilitation Officers.

Ian Attrill followed Noreen Taylor who was a huge instigator in the Charity moving forward with the very significant increase in the number of members, both blind and partially sighted, who became registered. In 1999 Olive Light took over, gaining the Investors in People award.

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This would be followed in 2014 under Estelle Thomas with the Queens Award for Voluntary Service. Now, in 2020, I am at the helm with our amazing team of staff, volunteers, trustees and members.

In the latter part of 2019, at the AGM, it was announced that we should go right back to grass roots and really look at what the Charity should be doing, what our members really want and need from us and how we can best fulfil those needs. I wanted to take this further to include the wider VI community and so we have spent 2020 talking but, most importantly, really listening to Isle of Wight VI people.

Our member’s feedback is regularly sought and our quality monitoring and indeed level of voluntary donation tells us we are doing well.

In conclusion the jury believe we should be in fact celebrating 155 years not 125.

Millbrooke House 2020

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The Whole Team

Firmly imbedded into the philosophy of Sight for Wight is our strategic aim namely to invest in our team of staff, volunteers and members for longterm benefit to everyone involved.

Staff

The team of staff have worked diligently and cohesively to provide increased support to members when face to face activities had to stop. We are a small team but everyone knows what everyone else does, staff ensure members get consistent and responsive communication and the training undergone in the year really has meant that our advice is clear, current and correct.

– Volunteers The Trustees

Sight for Wight’s team of eight trustees worked tirelessly attending our bimonthly main board meetings, working with individual staff on specific projects, advising on lobbying, making new introductions and fundraising. The team includes two severely sight impaired trustees and one sight impaired, but all the Board have a personal experience of severe sight loss through a close family member or friend giving true empathy towards our members.

Volunteers

With a small staff team, much of what we do can only be achieved with the tremendous support, so generously given, by our volunteers. Our volunteers support all areas of our operations, in facilitating and delivering member activities, education, fundraising, administration and governance.

Whilst we sadly have to say goodbye to people, we always celebrate the work they have done for us and thank all volunteers for their continued help and support. Equally we welcome new people who bring fresh ideas and experience.

Mel Barnes

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Our usual annual summer celebration to thank volunteers for 2020 was replaced by a welcome back party in July. The weather at Millbrooke house performed beautifully and all 40 volunteers who were able to attend were so pleased to be back.

By the year end our active volunteers had risen back, but only to 70 as so many people were still isolating.

Volunteer Welcome Back

THANK YOU

ONE VOLUNTEER STORY - MEL BARNES

The Charity was honoured to have received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2014 and Sight for Wight remains immensely proud of the achievements of our volunteers and volunteering programme today.

To help to continue to evaluate and quantify the enormous support volunteers provide Sight for Wight, we endeavour to record their hours’ contributing to Sight for Wight during the year. We also invite volunteers to describe what they gain from volunteering with Sight for Wight, so that we have both quantitative and qualitative data that will support our work.

A Tribute to Mel Barnes

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of a very popular and loved volunteer, Mel Barnes. Mel began volunteering in 1996 after his retirement from Southern Water, joining his wife who was already a volunteer.

Mel soon began helping out with a variety of activities including holidays, maintenance, home visits, emergency transport, minibus driver and escort, but more recently he planned and supported the Striders and Strollers on many a walk around the Island and on the mainland.

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We spoke to Mel earlier this year; he recounted several stories of people so thrilled to regain some lost independence by joining groups led by him. He said, “I honestly could not have been more pleased to be given the opportunity to do this.” Thank you, Mel.

We thought the most fitting tribute would be to recount one of those stories. The following is from Danielle Burgess a member of his Striders’ group:

I first met Mel back in 2011 on a Sight for Wight Striders’ walk which, for me, was a baptism of fire. I cannot remember the walk-in question, but I was struck at how Mel made me feel welcome to his merry band of walkers. The walk itself was very challenging with steep gradients, downhill slopes, and copious amounts of mud, which I soon realised was to be a regular feature of Mel’s walks! As a newbie and not the fittest, Mel would often take my arm and gently bring me to the front to lead the way. It was on those occasions that Mel and I would chat, and he would tell me about some of his wonderful holidays which always involved trains, another of his passions.

Our Striders’ walks were never dull, and it never ceased to amaze me how he managed to find such interesting walks across our beautiful island, always doing a ‘reccy’ first. Thanks to Mel I can proudly say that I am now able to do a 5 to 6 mile walk with relative ease.

Mel was not a huge fan of dogs and I still remember when our group went from having two guide dogs to five on occasions; Mel’s heart must have sunk! The dogs always knew when Mel was about, as there was the possibility of an exciting walk to follow.

At the end of our walks our reward was a pub lunch and, for the most part, Mel came up trumps and always managed to locate a suitable eatery. At the end of the day Mel would sometimes say to me – “hope we will see you next month” with a wry grin

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and twinkle in his eye! Even though I would return home with achy limbs and, in more recent times, a very muddy Bailey, the sense of achieving one of Mel’s walks always left me with a warm glow.

So, thank you Mel for helping me gain confidence to do challenging walks and introducing me to some wonderful fellow Striders and Sighted Guiders.

Mel will always be remembered by his caring nature, sunny smile but most of all for his cowboy hat he donned during any type of weather! You will be so greatly missed and, once restrictions allow, we will walk in his honour.

Members

Serving our members is at the forefront of everything we do, it is why we are here. Here we would normally expect to put lots of photos of our weekly, monthly, and one-off activities we have done during the year. This simply isn’t possible this year, we have been closed for all face-to-face activities for the whole year.

Instead, we will cover the new member services we have achieved behind the scenes:

Providing Support and Information

Sight for Wight aims to help anyone affected by sight loss, including relatives and carers, with practical information and emotional support.

When the lockdown started in March 2020 it became evident very quickly that our members needed a little extra help to cope with lockdown. Online shopping, which of course was in short supply anyway, is simply not accessible especially for those who struggle with tech.

The extent of reliance on friends and family, who could no longer visit, became apparent and so we felt the best thing we could do was thoroughly research what local help was available and then phone every single member and ensure they had regular and adequate access to food, medicine and human contact. We ended every call with

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“What is the one thing we can help you with right now?”

We of course prioritised the calls based on age and living arrangements as the whole process did take several weeks to complete. The result was plenty of referrals and the evident need for a befriending scheme. It came as a shock to us just how many of our members’ only activity outside of their homes were our activities, all of which of course had stopped.

We immediately applied for funding to put in place our proposed Friend in Need project with the National Lottery community funding. The funding however was not just to set up the telephone befriending service, it had two further very important focuses, Sight for Wight Alexa Skill and installed Echo devices with one-to-one training. Both the latter were as a direct result of the technology gap identified in the 2020 surveys.

A friend in need

Having called every member in April / May 2020 and put in place referrals and help for food, medicine and human company for everyone who needed it, in October, using profile information gathered, we began the process again. This time we were offered our telephone befriending service. The result is that we now have 10% of people on our telephone befriending scheme called every week, and a further group who we call monthly as a catch up on news.

The second element of the project was to introduce a faster way of getting important information and updates out to members in an accessible format, there was so much fast changing advice last year and our members cannot skim read or glance through internet articles, they have to listen to the information either through voiceover or screen readers. Either way browsing is something that certainly is not simple or straightforward.

So, we wrote our own Sight for Wight Skill which encompassed the following elements:

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The third element of the project was the acquisition of Echo show devices, with Vodafone dongles to offer an out-of-the-box installation to any members.

Training and installation were then offered to any members wishing to take a device and ongoing support as needed. The take up for the scheme utilised the devices purchased within the six-month period of the contract terms.

Further, these devices are equipped with a camera and therefore members can use the ‘what am I holding’ skill which means you can hold up an item and Alexa will read the text and tell you what you are holding, for example a tin of beans, medication, or a drink.

We further acquired Amazon Fire Tablets through the RNIB, which again can be used as Alexa devices with voice over for using apps and these were distributed to members again with full training offered in their set up. We additionally utilised the RNIB one-to-one tech and IT support for our members by referring them and ensuring they got the individual help they needed.

The final element of the project was to set up the befriending scheme to allow for face-to-face befriending once COVID secure measures allowed. This was not possible during the year.

USB Talking news

During lockdown we had to shut our recording studio for our talking news. This was such a hard decision as we knew that 217 members per week

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relied on the service. We had to adhere to the safety of staff and volunteers, however we approached our local radio station and they aired the talking news free of charge for us twice a week.

Our team of volunteers really came into their own, borrowing smart phones to record articles at home and send them in centrally, we were then able to produce them in radio format each and every week. We certainly had not envisaged our celebration of 45 years of the talking news every week being a closure of the service due to a world pandemic.

Recording studio at Millbrooke House

We remain hugely indebted to the large and stalwart team of volunteers who research articles, read, produce, copy, and arrange distribution of USB sticks. We will ensure that we continue to support this free weekly service with necessary equipment and resources.

Sight for Wight Website

Our website has been tested by our team of member volunteers to ensure we continue to ensure accessibility. Thanks to Wight Computers for all their help achieving this. on-digital information

For those who did not wish to engage electronically we sourced two grant funds from Independent Age and IW Council. The first to produce a one-off emergency newsletter mid-April 2020 to give people as much information in their chosen accessible format as we could, and to ensure they could best cope with lockdown. The second grant enabled us to double the size of our previous newsletter and to produce it in five formats over nine channels, twice as frequently.

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The members feedback we have received has been so welcome, we have completely overhauled the publication and circulation has gone from 500 to 800 over the year.

Equipment information

Our weekly low vision drop-in days, provided to members, of course had to cease, but we made sure our phone lines were manned throughout the entire pandemic during or usual office hours with 24/7 monitoring of answerphone messages.

Supporting Services and Activities

During 2020 no social activities took place except online meetings, an online book group and our Audio Library. The Audio Library containing 1,400 different CD titles is run entirely by one volunteer and celebrated fifty years of service, the last 15 fifteen of which has been the same single-handed volunteer.

Promoting Well-Being

Sight for Wight supports the general well-being of Islanders living with and affected by sight loss, considering both physical and emotional needs. During 2020 we took the chance to really look at everything we offer, we really wanted to ensure we were not duplicating what others were doing, and that as many different activities as possible were covered.

Part of this was a review of transport. We have traditionally had a minibus and offered transport to as many activities and events as we can. We called together a group of members and formed a committee about whether the

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minibus should be retained as it was getting to an age where repairs costs were high.

The results of the committee were that providing transport is fundamental to our activity provision and extremely valued by our members. It was therefore decided to seek funding to not only maintain the minibus, but buy a second smaller vehicle which could be driven by a wider range of volunteers. A grant was achieved, and the vehicle purchased.

Obviously, the emotional needs are at the forefront of the Friend in Need Project, which the Trustees have committed to funding for a further 18 months. It is seen as such a vital service especially as coming out of lockdown, waiting lists for counselling services for people living with VI is now in the region of eight months.

For 2021, we are expanding the telephone befriending in three ways: Living with Friends, Working Age Group and face-to-face visits. The first allows for people with the same eye condition and similar lived experience to be matched to offer real peer-to-peer support, similarly with the second, lived experience of working with a disability can be shared and, finally, the face-toface visits are aimed at giving people back their confidence in this new COVID safe world.

The key to negotiating any sense loss journey is not to do it alone.

Working in partnership

As detailed, we now have relationships with 25 other organisations, 13 of whom give us bi-annual training to ensure we remain current and can set our member expectations accordingly. These of course include the RNIB, RNID (Sensory Service,) Guide Dogs, Blind Veterans, and also more, but less obvious companies such as Island Roads for Skip and Scaffold News, GENIE PALS for local groups and community help, ferry companies for accessible travel, and Health Advocacy when things don’t go quite right.

Of course, we are extremely lucky to have the RNIB’s ECLO on our board of Trustees which means we are kept fully up to date with what they are doing

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nationally, anyone who comes through the eye clinic is also offered a referral to us.

Promoting Avoidable Sight Loss

Sight for Wight aims to promote avoidable sight loss through outreach at public events on the Island and through the development of an education programme.

All planned outreach events were cancelled this year, but we have increased our online presence throughout the year monitoring the reach of our posts and engaging with members on how to improve their appeal.

The Education Outreach Project could not be rolled out, but it is completely ready to go now and schools already lined up with planned dates.

Support for children and their families

The Isle of Wight boasts a thriving community for children and their families who are living with hearing loss. However, the same network is simply not there for those living with sight loss. There are many examples given to us of families feeling isolated and alone when facing potentially life changing sight loss situations.

The only current support comes through schools, the Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC) and our local council. We are already engaged with our council and have established what is in place and will engage with the RSBC. We will talk to parents and children to establish their needs, and again map need against provision so that we can fill these gaps in moving forward.

We will apply many of the same principals we have developed over many years of working with our adult members, but will tailor it to the needs of children and their families.

Our Education Program across all primary schools will raise awareness of the Charity at the same time to school age children and their families.

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Unemployment of visually impaired residents

Only 25% of visually impaired people nationally are in employment, this drops to around 17% of Isle of Wight working age registered SSI and SI people. The problem lies on both sides, employers fearful of employing someone with a sensory loss (and unaware of legal obligations), and lack of confidence in our working age members that they can get employment. The link between employment and better mental health is well documented.

We have now established a working age group and our sessions include such topics as

This was backed with an RNIB course which covered 16 core areas including Your Legal Rights, Access to Work, how to find a Support Worker, Confidence and Resilience building. Lobbying for the needs of VI people One of the core strategic aims of Sight for Wight is to lobby for the needs of VI people both locally and nationally. During 2020 we have engaged with several other organisations to do just that:

Hampshire Police – Visual Impairment Protocol

One of our members approached Hampshire and IW Police to detail how a police officer had attended her property, but she had no way of identifying that he was a genuine officer. Hampshire and IW Police took this very seriously and approached us to work with them in finding a way to prevent the same thing from happening again.

The result, the Hampshire and Thames Valley Visual Impairment Protocol. The system uses a password and 101 service to allow the homeowner to verify the legitimacy of the caller. We have further advised other police forces across the UK on the same protocol.

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BERYL E-Scooter

E-scooters were introduced and come with obvious concerns for VI people. When BERYL were identified as winning the bid for the Isle of Wight, we approached them and worked very closely with them to ensure as much work as possible was done in advance to take account of the needs of VI people.

To this end, we increased the fine if scooters are left outside of their designated parking zones and reduced their permitted maximum speed. We are now their nominated charity, if complaints are made we receive a donation for each one on a points system.

IW Council in COVID secure changes to central towns

When the world reopened last July there were many physical changes in our towns with wider pavements and barriers put in place with bus stops being spread out and moved. We worked with the IW Council and Isle Access to advise on minimising the disruption for VI people when making these changes.

Videos

Following on from our work with the Police we were asked if we could make a presentation of what are the main forms of sight loss, how these effect people’s vision, and what are the basic steps you can take to help them. We produced a short video of just this, identified the seven main causes of sight loss, giving examples of any residual vision this gives people, and then interviewed some of our members to give first-hand experience of what it feels like not to be able to see and identify the person who is in front of you.

Hello Everyone QR Codes

As a charity, we are always looking for innovative ways of helping our members in their daily lives. We believe we have found a very significant way of doing this. We want every visually impaired (VI) person to feel confident in their surroundings in their everyday lives, not just when someone is there to help.

Our aim – Simple; allow a VI person to walk into a building with confidence

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and have access to the written word without restriction.

How - Turn the written word into a human voice and provide audible information on physical surroundings.

Method - Audible Hello Everyone QR code.

Our vision is twofold . To get the QR system onto every building so anyone entering knows the layout and where to find a human being; secondly, replacing the written word so every food label, every letter, every menu can be heard.

Entering a building when you are VI , quoting one of our Trustees who is a Guide Dog user, is like “bumbling around like a blind person.” No one wants to be that person. Instead scanning a QR code that will give you a mind’s eye layout and the confidence to find a human being is all that is needed.

This is a key point where we differ from other guidance methods, we keep it simple, allow the person to enter the building and find a human being. Blind people are perfectly capable of getting from A to B, they do it every day, what they are not so good at is knowing where B is when in new surroundings.

As a sight loss charity, we can offer these audible QR codes with unlimited scans but, most importantly, with real advice on what the audio should say. Asking a sighted person, for example, to wear a blindfold to produce the script doesn’t work. Our CEO learnt this herself, with 8% vision she tried to write the scripts but, with some residual vision, missed trip hazards, orientation information and distances because she used her residual vision others may not have.

The obvious question, how does the member know the QR code is there? The actual Hello Everyone QR code must be placed at five feet high on the left-hand side of the door on the external wall at street level. Without this consistency the scheme will not work, as the user must know where to aim their smartphone.

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The second use is to turn the written word into audio. On the front of these accounts is such an example, scan and listen to our volunteer readers read out an audio version of this report. They can be added to any food label, menu or letter and we have developed software to run any text into a computer voice giving expressive rendition of the wording.

We have already provided Sight for Wight Hello Everyone QR codes for several commercial partners including the national CENSUS, who approached us to produce a QR code for their full CENSUS information. Also Hampshire Police, IW Council, Hovertravel, several IW tourism attractions and some larger pubs / restaurants.

Moving this QR code further forward to achieve our aim of having them everywhere, but keep them simple, cost effective and current is one of the key aims for Sight for Wight for the coming year.

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A Member’s story

Dr Catherine Miller

On 1st of December 1998, my husband and I moved from South London to the Isle of Wight, which was the best decision we have ever made.

We swapped ‘commuter hell’ for the beautiful Isle of Wight. We are both Chartered Accountants and so spent some years working in our profession on the Island.

One day in 2008 I just woke up and thought that when I went to university in 1986 there was no internet, and we knew so little about how our planet functions and what effect we are having on it as we live our lives. So, I took the brave decision to leave my job as Finance Director and return to university to find out how much science has moved on in terms of what we know about our planet and climate.

The things that I learnt going back into university after 20 years were amazing, so, to cut a long journey short, I now have 6 university degrees in: economics, oceanography, ocean science, management business administration, engineering and education.

Whilst working for the amazing charity UKSA, I stumbled upon a statistic about our Island’s children’s GCSE achievement in maths.

It is not good and not fair.

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So, there was no choice for me, I had to return to education and try to make things fairer for our Island’s children.

With the support of my husband, I am now working towards gaining my Newly Qualified Teacher (Mathematics) status at Cowes Enterprise College – the second-best decision we ever made.

So why is this story so amazing? I am registered blind and wear hearing aids. But I am in my classroom hopefully inspiring my pupils not to let anything get in their way. I stand in front of them wearing my weird glasses and using a portable microphone, doing my best to inspire them not to fear but to embrace maths. I let them know my expectations: I do not accept Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) as an excuse for you not to achieve your potential.

Finally, I would like to say that one day I hope to change this acronym of SEND (Special Education Needs and Disabilities) to just DEN:

Differential (varying according to circumstances or relevant factors) Educational Needs.

Catherine

Dr. Catherine Miller

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Looking forward

We continue to be driven by statistics which remain broadly as last year.

Looking specifically at the Isle of Wight the same relative proportions apply but specifically:

Our 2020 strategy maps out the low vision journey against local provision to meet the actual needs of visually impaired Isle of Wight residents and visitors. Throughout this report we have detailed where we are with current projects and where we are looking to move to in the forthcoming year

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Financial Review

Fundraising Activities

The remit of the CEO is to consider overall fundraising policy and strategy, and to oversee all fundraising activities. During the year there was extremely limited opportunity for local fundraising with every event cancelled due to the pandemic.

Annual Story Writing Competition 2020 did however see the fifth annual Story Writing Competition on the theme ‘The Wish’. This again attracted many entries of a high calibre across the three categories of entrants.

----- Start of picture text -----
Jo Brand
----- End of picture text -----

Winning entries were recorded by celebrities Jo Brand, Melvyn Hayes, Edana Minghella and Ray Allen , who very generously supported us.

Melvin Hayes

The event culminated with an online awards ceremony in December. With over 250 people watching live online for the much-anticipated results, prizes were awarded to our four category winners Fed Canavan, Isobel Woodford, Claudia Summers and Charlotte Wilson

We were also delighted to have the support of Hannah the Vintage Song Bird, Kelly Burke and Ben Stubbs providing musical entertainment throughout the evening.

Edana Minghella

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Donation by Individuals

With the change to our newsletter, increase in current and managed referral, Alexa Skill and increased level of one-to-one calls and support, as a charity we have seen a staggering increase in individual donations. Barely a day goes by without a letter, email, or phone call of appreciation for the work done in the last 12 months and people want to thank us by supporting us.

The number of monthly standing order donations has doubled, and our 100 Club has started to recover after a dramatic downturn when lockdown first hit.

The 2020 Christmas Raffle was again a great success, and in celebration of our 125 we managed to accumulate a staggering 125 prizes and smashed our target income.

Fundraising in the community

The Co-operative, Morrisons, Asda and Tesco have all been very supportive of our charity, again adding to us their local charities, holding second hands goods sales for us and allowing us to do bucket collections.

We wish to thank every one of our loyal supporters, as without your generosity we would not be able to continue to do what we do, it is that simple. AND without our volunteers, they’re on hand every time we ask, we would not be able to run the events and count the proceeds!

from TESCO

Legacies

A new legacy leaflet has been produced in 2019 and we have certainly enjoyed some staggering legacies this year which have of course come at such a critical time.

However, we are very aware that legacy income cannot easily be predicted and can never be guaranteed. It is widely recognised that as we generally enjoy longer lives, many of us can expect to spend our later years in

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expensive residential care, depleting estates that might otherwise have benefitted family, friends and chosen charitable causes.

We have also seen quite a significant rise in people pledging our charity in lieu of flowers for funerals, we are always so grateful that people think of us at such a sad time.

With no other outside events, and collection tins sadly lacking funds (as everyone moved over to contactless) our CEO looked to other ways to locally fundraise.

This took place in the form of grant funding, and we were able to not just maintain service but increase significantly the services offered during the year.

Income and Expenditure

Sight for Wight’s total income for the year stood at £248,511 compared to £63,785 in the previous year and this is a direct reflection of the grant and legacies income sourced compared to prior years.

After total expenditure of £88,403 (2020: £167,392) and gains on investments £35,419 (2020 loss £34,085) the surplus for the year amounted to £195,527 (2020: deficit £137,692).

In 2020 the Trustees charged the new CEO with producing and adhering to a balanced budget to stop the previous draw on reserves, as part of the 2020 Strategy implementation, ensured staff costs are controlled.

Total Funds and Reserves

The total movement in funds and the net reserves of the Charity are £195,527. The charity’s summary of reserves, including future plans can be summarised as follows:

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Total Fundsper Accounts 803,357
Less Restricted Funds -10000
Fixed Assets -359,579
General Funds 433,778
Designated Funds
Millbrooke House maintenance -70,000
Hello EveryoneQR Codes -30,000
2020 Education Outreach Program -25,000
Free reserves £308,778

Fixed assets are tied up in Millbrooke House and equipment that we need to deliver our services and activities. Funds are designated to ensure that there is adequate contingency in respect of maintenance.

The Charity has returned to a balanced annual budget and aspires to use designated reserves to grow and develop services for the future, including the Education Program for raising awareness of avoidable sight loss and the Hello Everyone QR codes.

The Restricted Funds relate to the activities that the donors have specified. The trustees have set aside the free reserves necessary for day-to-day working capital and to cover potential identifiable financial risks in accordance with the Charity Commission’s recommendations and guidance.

Investment Policy

The performance of the investment portfolio is regularly reviewed by the Trustees who have given the investment manager discretion to manage the portfolio within an agreed risk profile. The investment manager submits quarterly progress reports and performance is reviewed accordingly.

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It holds designated funds not immediately required, in the expectation of providing a better return than that available from bank or savings accounts. The objective is to produce a balance between capital growth and income. Within the policy remit, Sight for Wight has imposed an ethical restriction not to directly invest in any company if a major part of their business could adversely affect visual impairment.

The market value of the portfolio as of 31 March 2021 was £217,856 (2020: £185,536).

Pension Scheme Liabilities

The pension scheme liabilities relate to the Pension Fund administered by the Isle of Wight Council in respect of past service obligations for non-active members. As envisaged, this was fully paid by 31 03 2021 (2020: £9,166 equating to the cash paid in the year to 31 03 2021).

The Charity runs its own NEST pension scheme for current employees for which all contributions are up to date and paid.

Lisa Hollyhead Finance Officer

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Our Trading Company Millbrooke Enterprises CIC

Millbrooke Enterprises CIC, established in 2015, currently generates revenue from Dress for Less, our charity boutique dress agency in St James Street, Newport.

During the year to 31[st] March 2021 this was closed over seven months, trading for the remainder of the time, but in very difficult circumstances.

However, to keep income flowing, the shop manager and her volunteers undertook several different projects:

Clothes collecting

The vast majority of local charity shops remained closed through 2020 and those who were open were overwhelmed with donations

The number of calls we received from desperate people trying to deal with belongings from people who had passed away was vast. We set up an island wide collection service knowing that the clothes we collected would not suit our Dress Agency customers, this did not stop us, we wanted to help people.

We collected over 150 black sacks full to brim with clothes and our volunteers searched through every single bag, washed, pressed, and sorted the clothes. We sold what we could, and every single other piece of clothing was then donated to people in genuine need. Through our sorting process we knew our onwards donations were clean and very much fit for purpose, and the people we collected from couldn’t have been more grateful.

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Facebook and eBay

Whilst the shop had to remain closed, we took the chance to bring forward plans to create a Facebook and eCommerce shop for our donated items. This was an enormous learning curve for us, but our online presence was very much born. Sales increased steadily over time and lessons were learnt. Our Facebook sales soon exceeded eBay and our efforts were concentrated there.

New branding logo

Whilst the shop was closed, we took the time to review its internal design, ensuing our members had good accessibility. We changed all our labels, making them four times bigger in size and employing the contrast of colour rules. We moved everything around and created a much nicer more conducive shopping atmosphere.

Having remodelled the physical shop, we needed a new logo to compliment it. Instead of simply paying a design agency to come up with something, we decided to go out to the Isle of Wight community, most of whom were equally locked down, and asked them to create a new logo for us.

We were so pleased with the designs and narrowed them down to a shortlist of five. The winner was designed by Chloe from the Island Free School who really listened to the logo remit, and fully engaged her design with our existing Sight for Wight Logo, creating the vitally important relationship between the two organisations.

Private video tours

Shops finally opened in July, albeit to close again, but many people still did not wish to venture out, so we thought, ‘let’s bring the shop to the people’. We created standard videos of the shop and offered people individual on-line

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video tours looking for items specifically for them. Many hours of amusement were had when our random customers were asked to try clothes on for online guests of a similar size.

The future of the shop had to be seriously analysed during the year as it exists entirely to support the Charity, but the CEO put financial plans in place to reduce outgoings dramatically and the Trustees were very satisfied that the shop would continue to produce a positive cash flow, which could be used to support the shop.

By the end of March, we were ready to reopen with 17 of our previous 23 volunteers returning to us, all keen to return and without whom our enterprise would simply not be possible. A huge thank you to every one of you, not only for giving up your time but for tirelessly spreading the word and letting everyone know where they could find us.

Millbrooke Enterprises CIC again generated an excess of income over expenditure during the financial year ended 31 March 2021 noting that all salary costs of the Retail Manager, employed by Sight for Wight, undertaking work on behalf of Dress for Less are recovered from Millbrooke Enterprises CIC.

Full accounts for the Millbrooke Enterprises CIC, Company Number 10017281, are separately reported.

Debbie

Debbie Durbridge Retail Manager

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Structure, Governance and Management

Our Trustees, advisors and management

Our Board of eight trustees is made up as follows:

Our Chief Executive Officer Lisa Hollyhead F.C.A. BS(Hons)

Registered Office

The Board of Trustees meeting Geoff Underwood Isle of Wight High Sheriff

Millbrooke House, 137 Carisbrooke Road, Newport, PO30 1DD

Company registration number 6240404

Charity registration number 1149415

Accountants and Independent Examiner - Morris Crocker Station House, 50 North Street, Havant, Hants PO9 1QU

Bankers - Co-operative Bank PLC PO Box 101, 1 Bolton Street, Manchester, M60 4EP

Investment Managers - Charles Stanley and Co. Ltd

Vadatech House, Hounsdown Business Park Southampton SO40 9LR

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Our Governance

Sight for Wight is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital and governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The liability of each Guarantor Member in the event of winding up is limited to £10. The Trustees are Guarantor Members of the Charity, but this entitles them only to voting rights. The Trustees have no legal beneficial interest in the Charity. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission.

The stated objects within the Articles for which Sight for Wight was established are, for the public benefit:

Appointment of Trustees

The Directors of the charitable company are its Trustees for the purposes of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the Trustees.

Trustees nominate the Chair as set out in the Articles of Association. Trustees have the power to co-opt further members to fill specialist roles or to appoint to fill vacancies that occur between Annual General Meetings.

One third of the Board of Trustees are elected by Guarantor Members at the Annual General Meeting and serve for three years before seeking re-election. The Board of Trustees must number at least seven and is not subject to any maximum.

Trustee Paul Rutherford

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Between April 2020 and March 2021, it met formally eleven times in addition to the AGM held in December 2020. All meetings were quorate.

There is a sub-committee for HR that meets as required, but at least annually to review the pay policy for staff.

New Trustees are recruited through an open recruitment process, against a role description / skills matrix to ensure they have the skills to undertake their role.

Trustee Laura Gooljar

Details of the names of Trustees at the date of this report and changes since April 2020 are set out page 39.

Trustee Induction and Training

Trustee Chris Biles

New Trustees have an induction programme to ensure familiarity with Sight for Wight’s services and policies. This includes a briefing on their legal obligations under Charity and company law; Charity Commission Guidance on governance and the content of Sight for Wight’s Memorandum and Articles of Association. Induction also offers the opportunity to meet key employees, explore committee and decision-making processes and review the strategic plan and recent financial performance of the Charity.

Trustees are offered opportunities to enable them to develop in their governance role through internal and external training events. Annual Skills audit review is undertaken and Trustee personal qualities review, vacant Trustees positions are then recruited mindful where significant gaps lie.

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The Board of Trustee complete an annual review of the CEO and the Chair holds a formal review with the CEO based on pre-written questions to ensure all HR, strategic and tactical points are covered.

Organisation

Trustee John Moore

The Board of Trustees, consisting currently of eight members, administers the charity with bi-monthly meetings.

Delegation

The Trustees delegate the day-to-day management, the development of strategy and overall leadership of the Charity to the Chief Executive Officer.

To facilitate effective operations, the Chief Executive Officer has delegated authority, within terms of delegation approved by the Trustees, for operational matters including finance and employment.

Related Parties

None of the Trustees receive remuneration or other benefit from their work with the Charity. They give their time freely.

Any connection between trustee or senior personnel of the Charity and a related party must be disclosed to the full Board of Trustees. In the current year no such related party transactions were reported.

Conflicts of interest would be monitored through a record of interests and declarations at each Trustee meeting.

Principle Risks

The Board of Trustees reviewed the major risks to which the Charity is exposed. A wider risk register

Trustee Jacque Gazzard

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was established in August 2017 and is reviewed and revised in August 2020 and is scheduled for further review and revision annually thereafter.

Where appropriate, systems and procedures have been established to mitigate the risks the Charity faces. The risk management process itself is periodically reviewed to ensure it continues to meet the needs of Sight for Wight.

Risks are minimised by the implementation of internal controls with procedures for authorisation of all transactions and projects. External risks to

Trustee Christina Conroy

the anticipated decline in donations received through legacies have led to the plans to diversify income generation and fundraising.

The Trustees thank

Sue Bungey Chair of Trustees

Trustee and Treasurer Christina Conroy OBE

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF ISLE OF WIGHT SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

I report to the Charity Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2021 which are set out on pages 46 to 63.

Responsibilities and Basis of Report

As the Charity Trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your company’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent Examiner's Statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a

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‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  1. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities [applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)].

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Paul Underwood – Director 2021 For and on behalf of Morris Crocker, Station House, 50 North Street, Havant, Hants PO9 1QU

Dated: 22 November

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCORPORATING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Un- Restricted
Total		 Restricted
Total		 Total
Restricted
Funds
Funds		 Funds
Funds Year to Year to
31 March 31 March
2021
 2020
Notes £ £ £ £
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies 2 161,735 - 161,735 34,839
Fundraising Income 3 5,021 - 5,021 11,656
Income from charitable activities 6 74,535 76,050 150,585 9,732
Investments 5 7,220 - 7,220 14,695
__ ___ __ _ ______ ______
Total Income 248,511 76,050 324,561 63,785
====== ====== ======
======
Expenditure on:
Fundraising costs 7 45,160 22,575 67,735 51,624
Charitable activities 8 43,243 44,018 87,261 115,768
Total expenditure 88,403 66,593 154,996 167,392
====== ====== ====== ======
Net income/(expenditure) 160,108 9,457 169,565 (103,607)
Other recognised gains/(losses)
Gains/(losses) on investment assets 35,419 - 35,419 (34,085)
Net movement in funds 18 195,527 9,457 204,984 (137,692)
Reconciliation of Funds
Total funds brought forward 597,831 543 598,374 736,066
At 1 April 2020 ====== ====== ====== ======
Total funds carried forward 31 March 2021 793,358 10,000 803,358 598,374
====== ====== ======= =======
The notes on pages 49 to 63 part of these accounts

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BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2021

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
13
Fixed asset investments
14
Investments
15
Current assets
Stock
Debtors
16
Cash at bank / inhand
Current liabilities
Amounts
falling due within 1 year
17
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Liabilities due in more than one year
Net assets
Charity funds
Unrestricted
General funds
18
Designated funds
18
Restricted
18

Total Funds		 31 March
2021
£
359,579
217,856
1
577,436
======
2,181
24,901
233,460
260,542
(8,120)

252,422
829,858

26,500
803,358
======
668,358

125,000
793,358
10,000
803,358
======		 31 March
2020
£
370,845
185,536
1
556,382
======
2,494
14,964
44,231
61,689
(19,697)
41,992
598,374
-
598,374
======
502,831
95,000
597,831
543
598,374
======

For the finanical year in question, the company was entitled to exemption under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. No members have required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

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BALANCE SHEET (CONTINUED) AS AT 31 MARCH 2021

The company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2021.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2021 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for:

Approved by the Board of Trustees on 22[nd] November 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

………………………………………….. Christina Conroy (Treasurer)

…………………………………………..

Sue Bungey (Chairman)

The notes on pages 49 to 63 part of these accounts

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NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

1. Summary of significant accounting policies

(a) General information and basis of preparation

Isle of Wight Society for the Blind is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £10 per member of the charity. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information on page 31 of these financial statements. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are described on page 32.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Practice as it applies from 1 January 2015.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. The financial statements are prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the Charity and rounded to the nearest £1.

The charity also manages the assets held within an unincorporated charity (registered number 1149415), the assets of which were the subject of a scheme of management by the Charity Commission. The assets of that charity were amalgamated in 2013 with the assets of this Charitable company, and are reported as one entity in these accounts.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated.

(b) Funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

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NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the Charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

(c) Income recognition

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.

For donations to be recognised the Charity will have been notified of the amounts and the settlement date in writing. If there are conditions attached to the donation and this requires a level of performance before entitlement can be obtained then income is deferred until those conditions are fully met or the fulfilment of those conditions is within the control of the charity and it is probable that they will be fulfilled.

Donated facilities and donated professional services are recognised in income at their fair value when their economic benefit is probable; it can be measured reliably and the Charity has control over the item. Fair value is determined on the basis of the value of the gift to the Charity. For example, the amount the Charity would be willing to pay in the open market for such facilities and services. A corresponding amount is recognised in expenditure.

No amount is included in the financial statements for volunteer time in line with the SORP (FRS 102). Further detail is given in the Trustees’ Annual Report.

Where practicable, gifts in kind donated for distribution to the beneficiaries of the Charity are included in stock and donations in the financial statements upon receipt. If it is impracticable to assess the fair value at receipt or if the costs to undertake such a valuation outweigh any benefits, then the fair value is recognised as a component of donations when it is distributed and an equivalent amount recognised as charitable expenditure.

Fixed asset gifts in kind are recognised when receivable and are included at fair value. They are not deferred over the life of the asset.

Income from trading activities includes income earned from fundraising events and trading activities to raise funds for the charity. Income is received in exchange for supplying goods and services in order to raise funds and is recognised when entitlement has occurred.

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NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Income from grants are recognised at fair value when the charity has entitlement after any performance conditions have been met; it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. If entitlement is not met then these amounts are deferred.

Investment income is earned through holding assets for investment purposes such as shares and property. It includes dividends, interest and rent. Where it is not practicable to identify investment management costs incurred within a scheme with reasonable accuracy the investment income is reported net of these costs. It is included when the amount can be measured reliably. Interest income is recognised using the effective interest method and dividend and rent income is recognised as the charity’s right to receive payment is established.

Other income includes the conversion of endowment funds into income which arises when capital funds are released to an income fund from expendable endowments or when a charity has authority to adopt a total return approach to its permanent endowment fund. It also includes other income such as gains on disposals of tangible fixed assets.

Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities.

d) Expenditure recognition

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties; it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. It is categorised under the following headings:

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as an expense against the activity for which expenditure arose.

(e) Support costs allocation

Support costs are those that assist the work of the Charity but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office costs, governance costs, administrative payroll costs. They are incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity and include

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NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

project management carried out at Headquarters. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings, they have been allocated to cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources. Premises and other overheads have been allocated in a similar basis.

Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities.

The analysis of these costs is included in note 9 to these accounts.

(f) Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost (or deemed cost) or valuation less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Cost includes costs directly attributable to making the asset capable of operating as intended.

Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets, at rates calculated to write off the cost, less estimated residual value, of each asset on a systematic basis over its expected useful life as follows:

Freehold property 2% straight line Fixtures and Fittings 10%, 15% and 25% reducing balance Motor vehicles 25% reducing balance

The Charity's assets consist of land and property originally conveyed by gift to the Local Authority in 1929 and were passed to this charity by a scheme of management. The Grounds are managed in permanent endowment, and these assets are held at nil cost.

g) Investment properties

Investment properties for which fair value can be measured reliably without undue cost or effort are measured at fair value at each reporting date with changes in fair value recognised in ‘net gains / (losses) on investments’ in the SoFA. The Lodge property is held with a view to being re-let at market rent, and is included at market value with no amortisation.

(h) Investments

Investments are recognised initially at fair value which is normally the transaction price excluding transaction costs. Subsequently, they are measured at fair value with changes recognised in ‘net gains / (losses) on investments’ in the SoFA if the shares are publicly traded or their fair value can otherwise be measured reliably. Other investments are measured at cost less impairment.

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NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Current asset investments are short-term highly liquid investments and are held at fair value. These include cash on deposit and cash equivalents with a maturity of less than one year.

(i) Debtors and creditors receivable / payable within one year

Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure.

(j) Impairment

Assets not measured at fair value are reviewed for any indication that the asset may be impaired at each balance sheet date. If such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset, or the asset’s cash generating unit, is estimated and compared to the carrying amount. Where the carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount, an impairment loss is recognised in profit or loss unless the asset is carried at a revalued amount where the impairment loss is a revaluation decrease.

(k) Employee benefits

When employees have rendered service to the Charity, short-term employee benefits to which the employees are entitled are recognised at the undiscounted amount expected to be paid in exchange for that service.

The Charity operates a defined contribution plan for the benefit of its employees. Contributions are expensed as they become payable.

(l) Tax

The Charity is an exempt charity within the meaning of schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010

(m) Going concern

The Trustees have considered the level of funds held and the expected level of income and expenditure for 12 months from authorising these financial statements. The Trustees have also considered the impact of Covid-19 on income forecasts for 2020 and 2021 and its effect on the Charity’s activities. With the stated free reserves at the year-end of £131,985 (2019 - £107,893), and the support of programmes to mitigate the financial effects of the pandemic, the Charity’s forecasts and budgets have been amended. The Trustees are confident that it remains appropriate to prepare financial statements on a going concern basis.

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NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

(n) Cash flow statement

The Company has taken advantage of the exemption in Financial Reporting Standard No. 1 from producing a cash flow statement.

(o) Trading subsidiary

The accounts are not consolidated but a summary of the trading company figures are shown in note 4.

2. Donations and legacies

. Donations and legacies
Total Total
Funds Funds
Year to Year to
31 March 31 March
2021 2020
£ £
Gifts and donations 4,793 3,846
Legacies (see below) 140,883 22,552
Collecting boxes 861 3,478
Donation from trading subsidiary 15,198 4,963
161,735 34,839
====== ======
Of the comparative figure £62,255, £400 was restricted income.
Legacies received included in the above, are as follows:
Donor 2021 2020
Mr Muchmore 123,069
Mrs Edmunds 17,814
Mrs E D L Arendorffe 13,997
Mr Tibbens 4,062
Mrs A Sheaf 1,188
Mrs L G Clarke 2,000
Mrs Agnes Biles 1,000
Mrs M Webb 275
Mrs J M Atrill 30
£140,883 £22,552

Page 54 of 64

NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Year to Year to
31/03/2021 31/03/2020
£ £
3. Fundraising income
Fundraising events 2,866 3,381
Room hire 1,020 2,730
Other 1,135 5,545
5,021 11,656
===== =====

4. Subsidiary Trading Company

The Charity also has a trading subsidiary company, which is itself limited by guarantee, but which operates functions within the House for the Charity. The accounts are not consolidated, but reflect the monies due from the profits of the Trading Company. A summary of the trading results of the Company is set out below:

Company is set out below:
Year to Year to
31/03/2021 31/03/2020
Summary Profit and loss £ £
Gross Income 28,475 37,694
Costs (14,247) (37,264)
Profit 14,228 430
====== ======
Summary of Reserves
Accumulated of reserves 971 5,504
Profit for the year 14,228 430
Donated surplus to the charity (15,198) (4,963)
Accumulated profits Carried forward 1 971
Net assets 1 971
====== ======

Page 55 of 64

NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

5. Investment income

Income from listed investments
Deposit account interest
6. Income from Charitable Activities
Income from brailing
Income from aids and equipment
Income from activities
7.
Fundraising costs
Investment management costs
Fundraising event costs
Staff cost
Allocation of support costs		 Total
Total
Funds
Funds
31/03/2021 31/03/2020
£
£
7,220
9,381
__
351
7,220
9,732
=====
=====
Total
Total
funds
funds
31/03/2021 31/03/2020
£
£
125
126
1,232
1,599
149,228
5,833
150,585
7,558
=======
====
Total
Total
Funds
Funds
Year to
Year to
31/03/2021 31/03/2020
£
£
1,567
3,058
2,030
7,099
22,575
21,287
18,988
20,180
45,160
51,624
=====
=====

Page 56 of 64

NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

8. Charitable activities costs

Charitable activities costs
Total Total
Funds Funds
Year to Year to
31/03/2021 31/03/2020
£ £
Charitable activities costs 17,926 13,625
Staff cost 46,470 55,041
Allocation of support costs 45,440 47,102
109,836 115,768
====== ======

Of the comparative total, £400 was in respect of restricted activity expenditure.

9. Support and Governance costs

Support and Governance costs
Year to Year to
31/03/2021 31/03/2020
£ £
Staff costs 19,869 23,352
Premises 8,291 16,714
Insurance 2,524 2,137
Management and professional support 19,424 9,881
Depreciation 11,267 11,785
61,375 63,869
Governance:
Independent examiners remuneration 1,800 2,680
Accountancy and support 1,253 733
64,428 67,282
===== =====
Allocation of Support and Governance costs:
Fundraising costs 18,988 20,180
Charitable activities cost 45,440 47,102
64,428 67,282
===== =====

Page 57 of 64

NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

The allocation of support and governance costs are pro-rata based on the expenditure of each cost heading to the overall expenditure in the year. Non support staff costs have been allocated directly, and as a result the comparative has been amended for comparability.

10. Net incoming/(outgoing) resources

Net resources are stated after charging/(crediting):

Year to Year to
31/03/2021 31/03/2020
£ £
Accountancy and support 1,253 733
Independent examiners fee 1,800 2,680
Depreciation – owned assets 11,267 11,785
===== =====

11. Trustees’ remuneration, benefits and expenses

There were no trustees that received any remuneration for their services and expenses were reimbursed during the year of £Nil (2020 - £Nil)

12. Staff costs

Year to Year to
31/03/2021 31/03/2020
£ £
Wages and salaries 100,169 99,292
Employers pension costs 1,414 1,492
Social security costs 2,707 2,896
104,290 103,680
===== =====
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Total individuals employed by the charity 9 9
Full time equivelant staff 4.7 5.6
== ==

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

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NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

13. Tangible fixed assets

Cost at 1 April 2020
Additions
As at 31 March 2021
Depreciation at 1 April 2020
Charge for the period
At 31 March 2021
Net Book Value at 31 March 2021
Net Book Value at 31 March 2020		 Freehold Fixtures &
Property
Fittings
£
£
400,000
144,258
-
-
400,000
144,258
======
======
41,021
134,338
_8,000
_2,780
49,021
137,118
======
======
350,979
7,140
======
======
358,979
9,920
======
======		 Motor
Vehicle
£
8,018
__-
8,018
======
6,072
___486
6,558
======
1,460
======
1,946
======		 Total
£
552,276
-
552,276
======
181,431
11,266
192,697
======
359,579
======
370,845
======

The original cost of the premises was £572,293 and has been subject to impairments to current market value in 2012 and 2015.

14. Fixed asset investments

2021
£
Market value at 1 April 2020
177,173
Additions
270
Disposals
(8,353)
Change in value of investments
35,419
Market value investments at 31 March 2021
204,509
Cash funds, held by investment managers
13,347
Total investment portfolio
217,856
======		 2020
£
234,857
37,411
(61,010)
(34,085)
177,173
8,363
185,536
======

Page 59 of 64

NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

The following individual investments outlined above represent more than 5% of the portfolio’s total market value:

2021 2020
Schroder Unit trust 6.60% 8.41%
Black Rock Fund managers Ltd 7.22% 6.92%
Artemis fund managers 7.05% 5.11%
Investec fund managers 0% 8.97%
Temple Bar investment Trust 5.24% 4.30%
Bankers Investment Trust 7.63% 7.20%
M&G securities Limited 6.53% 5.67%
RIT Capital partners 5.51% 5.10%
Henderson investment funds Ltd 0% 5.91%
HICL infrastructure Plc 4.54% 5.48%
Ninetyone fund manager UK Ltd 8.03% 0%
15. Investments
31/03/2021 31/03/2020
£ £
Investment in subsidiary company 1 1
== ==

The Trust owns the entire issued share capital consisting of 1 ordinary share of £1 of the trading subsidiary, Millbrooke Enterprise CIC. Millbrooke Enterprises CIC was incorporated on 20 February 2016 and trades in support of the Isle of Wight Society for the Blind.

16. Debtors: amounts falling due within one year

16. Debtors: amounts falling due within one year
31/03/2021 31/03/2020
£ £
Trade debtors - -
Amounts owing from trading subsidiary company 14,753 10,733
Other debtors and prepayments 10,148 4,231
24,901 14,964
===== =====
17. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
31/03/2021 31/03/2020
£ £
Trade creditors 6,052 4,485
Taxation and social security 284 3,786
Pension scheme (16) 9,166
Other creditors and accruals 1,800 2,260
8,120 19,697

Page 60 of 64

===== =====

NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

18. Movement in funds

At
01/04/2020
£
Restricted funds
Todd Venables equipment fund 543
IW Council COVID Restart -
Total restricted funds
543
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds:
Maintenance (Millbrooke House)
70,000
Aspirational designated funds for
Hello Everyone QR code

2020 education programme
25,000
Total designated funds
95,000
General unrestricted funds
502,831
Total Funds
598,374
======		 Net
movement
in funds
£
(543)
10,000
9,457
-
30,000

-
30,000
165,526
204,983
======
 At
31/03/2021
£
-
10,000
10,000
70,000
30,000
25,000
125,000
668,357
803,357
======

Restricted funds are provided by way of donations to assist with funding of equipment to assist the visually impaired.

Page 61 of 64

NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

19. Related party transactions

The charity is under the control of the Trustees. During the year the Charity held a working capital loan with the trading company with expenses paid by the Charityfor and on behalf of the trading company of £7,089 (2020 £10,783). Millbrooke Enterprises CIC’s distribution to the parent charity of £15,198 (2020: £4,963) and the balance outstanding at the year end was £14,753 (2020: £10,732.)

There were no other related party transactions.

20. Comparative Statement of Financial Activities

In line with the Charity Commission’s Statement of Recommended Practice, presented below is the full comparative Statement of Financial Activities.

Unrestricted Restricted Restricted Restricted Total
Funds Funds Funds
Year to
31 March 2020
£ £ £
Income and endowments from:
Incoming resources from generated funds
Voluntary income 29,876 26,876
Activities for generating funds
Fundraising Income 11,656 - 11,656
Income from charitable activities 7,588 - 7,588
Investment income 14,695 - 14,695
_____ _ _ ______
Total income 63,785 - 63,785
====== ====== ======

Page 62 of 64

NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

20. Comparative Statement of Financial Activities (Cont.)

Expenditure on:
Fundraising costs
51,564
Charitable activities
115,768

Total expenditure
167,392
======

Net income/(expenditure)
(103,607)
Other recognised gains/(losses)
Gains/(losses) on investment assets
(34,085)
Net movement in funds
(137,692)
Reconciliation of Funds
Total funds brought forward at 1 April 2019
735,523
======
Total funds carried forward 31 March 2020
597,831
======

Page 63 of 64

SIGHT FOR WIGHT

01983 522205 - enquiries@iwsb.org.uk Millbrooke House

137 Carisbrooke Road Newport Isle of Wight PO30 1DD

Website: www.sightforwight.org.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sight4wight/

DRESS FOR LESS 01983 523197 - retail@iwsb.org.uk 114 St James Street

Newport Isle of Wight PO30 5HB

Facebook: search for Dress for Less Group

Instagram: www.instagram.com/dressforless_iow

Page 64 of 64